Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power - Hardcover

Alford, C. Fred

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801438411 ISBN 13: 9780801438417

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2001

Synopsis

From interviews and support groups for whistleblowers, Alford (government, U. of Maryland) learned that such support is sorely needed because society does not truly value ethical resisters. From a broad perspective encompassing Holocaust rescuer motives and a view of organizations as pitted against moral individualists, he discusses themes in whistleblowers' narratives, their ethics and implications for ethical theory, a political theory of sacrifice, and problems of confidentiality. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this title

From Booklist:

The media seem always to portray whistleblowers as martyrs or heroes. Alford, though, sees something else. He is the author of What Evil Means to Us (1997) and The Self in Social Theory (1991). He visited a retreat for "stressed-out whistleblowers," sat in on support-group meetings held by whistleblowers, and conducted in-depth interviews with two dozen of them. Alford is concerned with why whistleblowers choose to go public and challenge their organizations, but he is also interested in what they have learned from their experiences. He is fascinated by the costs incurred by the "autonomous individual" who confronts the organization, an entity that Alford says demands obedience, conformity, and loyalty. Instead of noble causes and vindication, Alford finds individuals who become isolated from coworkers, friends, and even family and who often admit that they would not repeat their actions if they had it to do over again. He also examines the political and ethical aspects of whistleblowing by looking at the "political theory of sacrifice" and considering "narcissism moralized." David Rouse
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About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0801438411
• ISBN 13: 9780801438417
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 170